Splinters Hurt

"You are children of G-d, your G-d. Do not disfigure yourselves." (Torah portion of the week, Re'eh, Deuteronomy 14:1)

The Hebrew word for 'disfigure' is 'titgodedu.' The Torah warns the Jewish people not to adopt the pagan custom of cutting oneself as a sign of mourning. The Torah reminds us that we are not just an ordinary nation - a nation of Hebrew speaking non-Jews. We are G-d's children and we must act accordingly.

There is another - related - explanation for the word 'titgodedu.' This word can be translated as the formation of congregations; cutting the whole into splinters.

You are children of G-d. Every Jew who remembers that he is a Jew, every Jew whose Jewish roots are the foundation of his identity and every Jew who is a Jew before any other identity is part of the wonderful family of the children of G-d. He may err, he may sin, he may not integrate the significance of his bond with G-d into his daily life - but he is part of the family. If he splinters off into his own small group, he disengages from the family. And he should not be surprised if the family disengages from him.

There is only one large party of the national camp. It is the party of the Jews who identify themselves as part of the Jewish family. It is the party of all the Jews; religious and secular, rightist and less rightist, righteous and less righteous. The name of the party is Likud. We can break off into hundreds more splinters. The result is the abandonment of our fellow family members to the leftist elites. The result is also the destruction that we have witnessed in Gush Katif and the perpetuation of the Left's control of our country.

Splinters hurt! Now is the time to take responsibility and join the Likud. Call (Israel) 09 792 9046 and our English speaking staff will assist you.

Shabbat Shalom,

Moshe Feiglin